Apparently there’s something about the Nordic countries that makes them prone to outbreaks of peace. Denmark was ranked second and Finland No. 6. The other two Nordic nations, Sweden and Norway, placed were No. 13 and 17, respectively.

The United States was way down on the Global Peace Index, placing at No. 94, but a definite improvement from last year’s 101. Part of the improvement came from the partial withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and U.S. efforts to secure a nuclear deal with Iran. Canada placed seventh on the global list.

The authors of the report noted that “while the average level of global peacefulness was stable, a number of indicators and countries did deteriorate while others improved.”

Europe, North America, sub-Saharan Africa and Central America and the Caribbean “experienced an improvement in peace” while “the other five regions became less peaceful.”

The Middle East and North Africa was deemed “the least peaceful” region in the world due to several countries suffering “from an upsurge in violence related to sectarian strife and civil conflicts.”